Who are the Greatest Soccer Players of All Time?
In this post, I, Junior Soccer Coach, am going to be comparing some of the true legends of soccer together to see who really is the best in the world. This will contain the greats such as Neymar, Pele, Ronaldinho, Messi and C Ron (Cristiano Ronaldo.)
Please note all stats are correct up to 6.6.17
Lionel Messi
Has scored 360 goals in 414 appearances in his whole senior career. However, goals aren’t everything in soccer so I am also going to compare their honours as well.
Lionel Messi has been runner-up in 3 Copa America’s, runner-up of the 2014 World Cup held in Brazil and he has also won Gold at the Beijing Olympics back in 2008 representing his national team Argentina.
He has also won 8 La Liga titles with arguably the best soccer team in the world, the mighty Barcelona.
Pelé
The player who played during 1956-1977 and managed to score 650 goals in 694 appearances throughout the whole of his successful senior career.
He won the 1958 World Cup, aged just 18, won the 1962 World Cup and the World Cup in 1970 all representing his nation Brazil.
He was also a runner-up in the Copa America in 1959, a year on from his 1958 World Cup success.
If you were to look up on the internet something like football’s greatest players, Pele would certainly feature as one of the first on the list.
Ronaldinho
The man who featured for PSG, Barcelona and Milan, sadly retired back in 2015 aged 35.
He scored 33 goals for Brazil in 97 matches, came third in the 2008 Olympic Games, won the 2002 World Cup, the 2005 Fifa Confederations Cup, the 1999 Copa America, and was the runner-up in the 1999 FIFA Confederations Cup.
For his respecting clubs all together, he scored 167 goals in 440 games, as well as scoring his 103 rd Champions League goal recently.
Cristiano Ronaldo (C Ron.)
The Portuguese legend has scored an incredible 285 goals in 265 appearances in his senior career.
He also has won a wide range of trophies and has won the 2016 Euros, the runner-up of the 2004 Euros and got a bronze medal at the 2012 Euros, all representing Portugal.
He has been the winner of the Balon D’or 4 times, won the Champions League 4 times, won the Premier League with Manchester United 3 times, won the FA Cup once and has disappointingly only won the La Liga twice.
He has also been crowned footballer of the year back in his Manchester United days in 2007 and 2008.
Neymar
The Brazilian wizard, had an incredible rise in his career when he was transferred from Santos to Barcelona at the age of 21.
He has won the 2016 Olympic Games and the 2013 Fifa Confederations Cup.
He has also been a runner up in the 2012 London Olympic Games.
He has won the Champions League once, the Spanish Cup 3 times, the footballer of the year once and has won the La Liga twice.
Junior Coach’s Verdict
In terms of team performances, Ronaldinho would have to come out on top, but in terms of personal achievements, which is really what you need to look at, the clear winner is Cristiano Ronaldo.
However, the debate about the best player still goes on like it always will do and more players will continue to write themselves in the history books of soccer and more greats are still to come.
Finally, I am going to leave you with some great quotes from top footballers, which will hopefully inspire and motivate you on your footballing journey:
- “Always be confident And excited.“-Andres Iniesta.
- “My ambition is to always get better and better.“-Lionel Messi.
- “Your love makes me strong. Your hate makes me unstoppable.”-Cristiano Ronaldo (C Ron.)
What do You Think?
Let us know who you think is the greatest soccer player of all time in the comments below
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